And here we go, one small step for high school athletes and one giant leap for America down the road to authoritarianism.
As the Shreveport Times reports, Bossier Schools Superintendent Scott Smith now says said there is an “expectation his student-athletes will stand for the national anthem at sporting events.” Here’s Scott:
It is a choice for students to participate in extracurricular activities, not a right, and we at Bossier Schools feel strongly that our teams and organizations should stand in unity to honor our nation’s military and veterans.
Anyone who doesn’t abide by this is subject to punishment which, for now anyway, will be confined to “extra running to a one-game suspension.”
Here’s a PR from Parkway High School:
Invariably, some readers’ first reaction to this will be “good.”
But if that’s your first reaction, I respectfully ask you to take a moment and let this sink in. Donald Trump, via Twitter no less, has now succeeded in indirectly imposing “punishments” on high school students who do not conform to what he imagines is the proper pre-game ritual at sporting events.
Now recall what he told the Boy Scouts earlier this year:
Trump tells 40,000 Boy Scouts: "We could really use some more loyalty, I will tell you that." pic.twitter.com/7gQ04lsdU5
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 24, 2017
History is calling….
Loyalty owed to royalty….
Questions that one might want to consider:
1. Isn’t this high school policy a great example of educators demonstrating how the 1st Amendment rights have become so open to interpretation/contradiction by a nation whose population – including their educators – don’t understand the 1st Amendment and the granted rights of freedom of peaceful speech/expression that it established?
2. How free can you be – if you are punished for expressing your own viewpoints if they are not harming anyone else and worse the question that is begged “What rights will we lose next under fascist Trump and his neo-nazi supporters.
3. How weak and brittle is a system (or Administration) that forces allegiance and respect that it has not and apparently is totally incapable of earning?.
4. How many fascist and dictatorial regimes in history have followed this kind of unearned and forced allegiance policy – until they found themselves embroiled in mass rebellion and or civil war?
The ACLU will tear this apart. The NFL could pull this off if they wanted to, since they’re a private employer. Public schools won’t stand a chance of enforcing this since they’re an arm of the government. It’s unequivocally awful, but it won’t last.
Not shocking for Louisiana – they are not known for great educations/public schools. I believe there are 6 La. schools in the 100 Worst in America and one school in 100 Best – and that is a Magnet School of 410 pupils, 27 teachers, Advanced Studies.
I guess Parkway High School, rather than design a better way to teach the kids, it was just easier to order/demand their abeyance? Their Homepage has more information on a huge list of Athletic Dept than info on Academics.
To grasp this entire issue in LA. schools, you really must read the link H has provided. Inside that article, about half way thru the piece, you will see another link referencing Green Oaks principal speaking with The Times – equally important to read that link too. Here it is:
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2017/09/26/green-oaks-football-team-protest-during-national-anthem/706397001/
The first article, first sentence. there is a link indicated however that page is now OOPS no longer available. Could be because it is not in line with The Supreme Court ruling.
Hey, maybe trump has a place in his administration for Waylon Bates!
I never understood standing as respect for the military. A total Trump conflation to make it his agenda.
Standing for the National Anthem and/or Flag
The foto of Adolf Hitler you showed is one of the last weeks of the Third Reich, showing children of even under 15 years who fought against the Russian Army. Sportspeople who did not respect the National Anthem or did not show a respectful behaviour were punished in the beginning in 1933 in the same way as the Parkway High School. A few years later, the Germans need time to get used to the Nazi methods, many came in re-education camps to become good Germans. These re-education camps were horrible. Thousands died. Hundred thousands suffered. So things like this always come step by step. It is not a story, I know it from my family.